Family Law Partners

Family Law Partners is a specialist firm focused exclusively on family law, operating across the South East with offices in Brighton, London, Horsham, Tunbridge Wells, Ascot, Chelmsford, Eastbourne, Fleet, Petersfield, Winchester, Woking and Lewes. The firm places strong emphasis on collaborative approaches, working with clients and professionals to secure constructive outcomes for families.

The firm comprises 28 qualified lawyers, including directors, consultants, senior associates, associates and solicitors with qualifications spanning from 1978 onwards. It offers extensive expertise in non-court dispute resolution, with 15 mediators, 12 collaborative lawyers and 2 arbitrators. Commitment to alternative dispute resolution is integral to the practice, supported by ongoing training in mediation, collaborative law and arbitration.

Areas of work include divorce, judicial separation and dissolution, mediation, financial issues, cohabitation, pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements, arrangements for children, surrogacy and related matters. The firm regularly collaborates with specialist counsel, pension advisers, financial experts, forensic accountants, counsellors and family consultants to provide comprehensive support. Its lawyers are experienced in handling complex financial disputes, cohabitation issues, child arrangements and international surrogacy matters. The firm promotes non-adversarial solutions, encouraging mediation, round table meetings and collaborative processes, while maintaining a solution-focused approach in litigation when necessary.

In 2022, the firm introduced “Agreeable,” a model in which a mediator who is also a qualified family lawyer works alongside a family consultant to provide joint assistance to both parties, reflecting the firm’s longstanding commitment to innovation in family dispute resolution.

Languages
English

Memberships
Resolution
Family Law Advanced Panel
Law Society Family Law Advanced Accreditation
Family Mediation Council

Staffing
10 UK partners
18 other UK lawyers

Team Members
Sarah Jelly (consultant, qualified 1978); Robert Williams (director, 1994); Alan Larkin (director, 1997); Jayne Llewelyn (consultant, 1989); Hazel Manktelow (consultant, 2003); Lisa Burton-Durham (director, 2004); Kate Elliott (director, 2006); Gemma Hope (director, 2006); Louise Buttery (consultant, 2011); Chris Maulkin (director, 2011); Polly Dallyn (senior associate, 2017); Charlotte Plowman (senior associate, 2016); Emily Pain (consultant, 2011); Rachel Nicholl (director, 2013); Mimi Hadley (solicitor, 2020); Alice Scambler (director, 2008); Raj Patel (solicitor, 2019); Amanda Phillips-Wylds (director, 2009); Eleanor Pollard (solicitor, 2020); Sarah-Jane Riddell (senior associate, 1993); Craig Yeung-Williams (associate solicitor and mediator, 2010); Lucy Naish (senior associate, 2017); Zoë Summers (consultant, 2009); Hannah Gumbrill-Ward (senior associate solicitor, 2019); Victoria Burrows (senior associate, 2004); Katy-Louise Allen (senior associate solicitor, 2010); Matthew Richardson (consultant, mediator and arbitrator).